Sliding Doors
by LeonaWriter
Summary: AU. What if Shinichi and Ran had left Tropical Land ten minutes early, but in their place had been Kaito and Aoko? One thing's for sure - the paths we take affect not only us, but everyone else around us as well. Re-named - was 'What If'.
1. Sliding Doors

What if...?

Disclaimer: FANfic. See title. Plunnie. Plunnie attacked. You may take ravaging plunnie if you wish.

Kuroba Kaito and Nakamori Aoko had intended to make a day of it – no Kid heist had been planned, so neither had other arrangements. Test scores had been handed out a few days prior, and both had received grades to their satisfaction. In response to a – most spectacular, in Kaito's opinion – prank, delivered to the entire class and the teacher in general, Aoko had demanded that he pay her back with a trip to Tropical Land, starting at ten am that Saturday morning. His treat, not including the gifts and clean up he had to do for the rest of the class.

Not that Kaito regretted any of it. Except the small fact that Hakuba had been out of town, and so unable to benefit from the performance in the same way as the rest of the class.

Hakuba always had the best reactions. At least, next to Nakamori, that was.

So now there they were, he and Aoko, wondering around Tropical Land. Aoko often glanced at him wherever he was, fully intending not to have to have the park security come down on them. Kaito, for all that he could hardly stay still at all, kept the tricks to a minimum after the first death-glare from his occasionally mop-wielding friend.

He only flicked her skirt twice.

Morning turned into day, and day slowly but surely started to turn into evening. A while back they had seen a commotion over by the Mystery Coaster, but luckily for them it had been after they had already had a ride. Kaito had been momentarily freaked when the police had been seen exiting the park, and a weird feeling of unease came when he heard that they had caught a murderer. He didn't like murders, or murderers, and for that matter he didn't like the police or detectives much more. A bit more, he had to admit to himself, but not by much. At least they didn't hurt anyone.

It was as the sun was setting that he and Aoko had decided that it was time to head home, and it had been then, then that he had seen them.

It was a man, dressed almost head to foot in black. Out in broad daylight. Looking as suspicious as he possibly could, as if they had a 101 handbook on the subject.

Add that together with the fact that Kaito had just seen him come out of an amusement park, and things looked, well, suspicious.

Kaito grinned. It wasn't as if Kid hadn't been pulled out of his top hat for lesser things, after all.

So he had made his excuses to Aoko and run off after the guy. Aoko wouldn't worry too badly, he knew – he'd said he'd be right back, and even if he wasn't she knew him well enough that his disappearances were almost commonplace nowadays.

Who was he to know that Kudo Shinichi had left a mere ten minutes earlier; not too long, but long enough not to notice the suspicious man in black? Who was he to know that Aoko _would_ worry tonight? It wasn't as though the magician could see into the future.

It was hours later when he woke up, and a while later still saw him running off from an on-the-scene first aid centre with a bump on his head and (luckily) still with the clothes from earlier hanging off him, which meant all of his tricks, including one _very_ conspicuous top hat, were all still in his possession.

That was good. Very, very good.

What was bad – very, _very_ bad – was that he was – or at least looked the age of – a six year old.

There were a number of reasons this was Bad with a capital B. One was that the people who had made him that way thought he was dead, and were also most probably connected to Snake's people. Another was that if he was little like this, he could hardly go out and be Kid when he literally _was_ a kid. It would be too easy to link the two, too easy to figure out who he was for those who had done this to him. Another reason was that he couldn't go back to Aoko. She'd know who he was, or she'd miss him, and he couldn't tell her, not with now _two_ secrets hanging over his head.

Another, just as important reason why this was Bad, as that he id not like the idea of day care for grade-schoolers. At. All.

AN: This is what comes of a reviewer innocently asking me what an AU is. I came up with a few things (what if Kudo became the Kaito instead of Kaito? What if everyone turned into cat-people?) but for some reason (I blame Manzanita - her Little Kid fic got me thinking) I wondered what things would be like if it'd been Kaito who'd been shrunk. This is set after Kid encounters Shinichi at the Clock Tower Heist, but before (obviously) Nightmare. I may or may not put up a short follow-up, but feel free to take it where you will.


	2. Predicament

What if...?

Chapter Two - Predicament

-----

_Breathe, you moron. Breathe_.

But Kaito was finding it understandably _hard_ to stay calm and keep Poker Face up. That mirror back there – he looked like a freaking six year old! The 'Kid' part of 'Kaitou Kid' wasn't supposed to be _literal _for cripes' sake!

There was a bump on his head that hurt every time he tried to think about his situation too hard, and he was still wearing the clothes he'd been wearing earlier. Which had fitted perfectly well back then when he'd been with Aoko. They had. Now? Not. At. All. They hung off him as though he was wearing tents, or as if he'd put on one of his heavier costumes without the padding.

Not good. Not good at all.

Which was made worse in that all of his tricks kept falling out all over the place, making him have to pick them up as he ran in the driving rain. At least his Kid outfit had always been able to be packed up tight into the top hat, so that was easier to carry and not drop from the pocket that wasn't quite so secret any longer.

Exhausted long before he should have been, Kaito hid in an alley between two buildings that suddenly felt much bigger than they ever had before.

_Breathe. Remember to breathe. And try to remember how to do Poker Face again. Preferably before the footsteps coming towards you actually notice you. And._ . .

The magician-thief turned fake child cursed in fluent Nakamori-ese under his breath, which would have probably had those approaching him wondering how someone so young knew such bad language. But at that moment, he didn't exactly care. That was Kudo coming his way! Kudo Shinichi, the one who had almost caught him and – oh, this was bad.

"...Mou, _Shinichi_! It was bad enough you saying you'd lost your camera back there, I could deal with that. But you just had to get involved in that search for the missing kid too, didn't you?"

"O- oi, not my fault the brat ran off. Besides, you were looking just as hard as I was! You probably would've as if I'd gone crazy if I'd said no..."

"That's not the point!"

Oh hell. Kudo'd been looking for him. And if he had, then who knew what he'd found on the way here, if he'd been looking. Kami knew he could've forgotten at least one or two of his tricks along the way, and anyone who knew him or Kid would be able to figure out whose they were. If they found him.

"Ne, Shinichi. Let's just go home. I somehow doubt we'll find him now. It's been _ages_."

"Ah – yeah. You go ahead, okay? I just want to check something. . ."

The girl sighed irritably. "Fine. Just make sure you come back, will you?"

"Hey! Don't worry so much – I'll catch up with you!"

"Hmph. Just make sure you do, all right?" she called back as she ran on ahead.

Kudo snorted. "Idiot," he said, just loud enough for Kaito to hear. "Of course I'm going to. What does she think I'm going to do, disappear forever or something?"

Kaito swallowed hard, remembering what he'd said to Aoko, and that he'd basically done just that. Also because Kudo, instead of wandering off in some completely unrelated direction, continued on around the corner of one of the two buildings he was still hiding between.

And. . . oh, he was _so screwed_. Kudo was walking down towards him, looking right at him, and for some reason he hadn't been able to get his head together well enough yet to piece together his Poker Face.

"Ah, kiddo." There was that 'I've caught you' look on the guy's face, too. Even if it was toned down. Kudo crouched down in front of him, with not a single part of his expression indicating that he recognised Kaito as the Kid at all. "D'you know how much trouble you've caused?"

You mean, apart from theft, property damage, breaking and entering and various other offences including raising Nakamori-keibu's blood pressure? Why no, tantei-san, I don't know, care to enlighten me?

"E-eh..."

Kaito attempted an innocent smile which, while it didn't usually work most of the time, should be more effective with his appearance being as it was. Kudo frowned.

"Sheesh, how'd you get out of there, anyway, and dressed like that? What were you doing, trying to play dress-up as your older brother or something?" Ha ha, very funny. "Well, whatever you were up to, that won't do. Come on, I'm taking you back-"

"No!"

They both started to hear Kaito's voice after he'd been mostly silent through the exchange.

"Oi, oi, you've got to go back, right? I bet your parents are waiting for you somewhere. You want to go back to them, don't you?"

The thoughtless words made Kaito flinch at the thought of his mother. If only it were that simple_. If just turning back into a child like this meant I could have dad back, I wouldn't mind so much. . . even if time had turned itself back just for me. But it hasn't, and if I went back to mom now, like this, then – and if anyone else saw me, if Hakuba figured me out, I'd be dead._

_And if the people I saw tonight are anything related to the ones that wanted Kid dead, then so would everyone else_.

"No. 'Tou-san's gone and 'Kaa-san's away, so I decided to go to Tropical Land on my own. I _wanted_ to!"

He hid his wince at sounding so stupid, childish and cute. It was a necessary evil. Apologised to Aoko, not that she'd know it.

Kudo slapped a hand against his forehead for some reason. Then –

"I guess that settles it. I suppose you can stay over at mine, at least while we call the police over at Tropical Land to say that I found you. I should still have some clothes that'll fit you, too – at the very least, better than what you've got on right now."

_Ohshit_. There was no _way_ he was going to go along with that. Absolutely _no_ way. He'd sooner room with Hakuba. And Hakuba was the one who actually knew who Kuroba Kaito was!

"Ah, no – I know someone, I'm sure they could pick me up – you don't have to do that, I mean, _really_ don't."

Kudo started looking at him strangely, but stood back up, a determined, concentrating look on his face.

_Oh, not good_...

"It's good you do know someone, but if you're going to be able to call them, you're going to need a phone. And I'm going to take you there whether you like it or not – kids like you shouldn't be out on your own, especially in weather like this."

And before Kaito knew it, arguments were no longer any use, as he was being physically lifted into the air and carried. By Kudo.

Perhaps one of his most embarrassing memories to date.

-------

AN: I'd always wanted to do at least a bit more for that story. This is supposed to be basically what happens next – so anyone who wants to take it up will have an easier time. I may yet write more for it, but there'd have to be a whole load of thought put into it that I don't have time for. Ah, well. Enjoy.


	3. Any Port In A Storm

Sliding Doors

Chapter Three – Any Port in a Storm

----

By the time Kaito and the detective reached Beika street – the irony of the name not escaping him by any shot – the wrought iron gates of the Kudo residence had been growing more and more foreboding as time went by. But at least he wasn't still being carried. He'd somehow persuaded the detective to let him down a few short blocks back. He didn't bother trying to run after that, anyway. He still had on his entirely too baggy clothes, which would hinder his every movement, and besides. The guy was one of his better detectives. He'd probably figure it out from his first stupid moment if he did try like this.

This wasn't bringing into account the fact that Kaito had no where left to go that he could think of. So far as he knew, the guys who'd tried to kill him didn't know he was still alive. It'd be worse than everyone finding out he was the Kaitou Kid if even just _one_ of the people he knew figured out who he was. At least with someone Kuroba Kaito had never known, they wouldn't think to look there even if – kami forbid – said person figured everything out anyway. If he had any of his luck left still, he hoped Kudo never did. Hoped.

The gates were unlocked and creaked open. He was ushered in, and they were shut behind him with a unsettling clang before Kudo started going forward once more, on and into the big house. Not quite as big as Hakuba's, but big enough. And then they were in, and both he and Kudo were shaking off the rain that'd still managed to get itself onto them.

Kaito knew he was in trouble when he saw the look Kudo sent him – or rather, his clothes.

Well, he supposed he could understand. Even though he'd tried his best to avoid it, they (especially the bottom half of his jeans trouser legs) were absolutely filthy from the mud and rain. But still.

He sent up what he hoped was an innocent look at the detective, who snorted, sounding somewhat amused as well as disapproving. Kudo shook his head, in what Kaito could only assume was bemusement.

"You, stay right here," Kudo said over his shoulder as he started to walk off. "I'm going to find you something that might fit – think 'Kaa-san still keeps some of my old things around from when I was your age..."

Obviously, the other boy couldn't see Kaito's face at that moment, but if he had turned around, then he would have seen an unmasked look of horror flicker onto the seemingly younger boy's face.

_This humiliation. . . it's just too much. Why couldn't I have called Jii – heck, mom would've been able to drop some things by somewhere unnoticeable easily enough, she married dad! I did not, I still don't want to have to end up in some stuck up detective's old grade school outfits_. He groaned, head going into his hands. _No, please no_...

That part of the situation, however, was entirely out of his hands, and not long later Kudo came back down with various items in hand. He was sure his face went slightly green when he thought he saw something blue, small and jacket-shaped in the pile. Little kids just _shouldn't_ dress like that. There should be a law against it, or something.

A raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look later, and he'd reluctantly followed Kudo into a room, whereupon the other had left him to it to find something he liked – that is, in Kaito's opinion, something he _could_ wear – while the detective went to phone up the Tropical Land security to assure them that he'd found their runaway.

Desolate, Kaito resolved himself to searching through the bundle. Most of it got tossed to one side – why the _heck_ did the guy think he'd want to wear a _bow-tie_?! – while some was put into a 'possible' pile. Much as he may hate it to admit, he did need something else to wear. Jeans. Layered long-sleeved t-shirt and jumper – he could use the layers to hide his Kid things until he had a better place to put them. And. . . house scuffs. That was it. He just hoped the guy wouldn't just get rid of his old clothes. There were still quite a lot of his old tricks stuck inside hidden pockets, and he didn't want to have to go rummaging around in the trash to get them back.

Somehow, someway, he _was_ going to get his old body back to be able to wear them again. If only to make it so that he didn't have to wear some detective's old hand-me-downs any more.

Trying not to drag his feet too badly, he made his way out of the room, not bothering to pick the rest of Kudo's old kiddie-clothes up off of the floor. When Kudo turned around to look in his direction however, he switched immediately to a more child-like expression of pleased surprise. Or something.

"Ne, ne, nii-san – it looks like they fit!"

"Huh? Oh, right... Look, they've asked if I could look after you for the time being, at least until they get all the rest of your paperwork filled out. Anywhere up to sometime tomorrow. You okay with that, kid?"

"Eh? Yeah! This place looks real cool!"

He didn't need to make a show of looking around – he was taking every opportunity that was presenting itself to him to get a feel for his new surroundings, know where the entryways and exits were, and which ones would be possible to use at which heights. It was always best to plan for every contingency, after all. The moment he got his older and taller body back, he was probably going to want to be able to scarper pretty damn quickly.

"Good, because – what?"

Kaito'd been waving his arms – now irritatingly smaller – in order to get some attention.

"I wanna make a phone call."

Kudo blinked. Maybe he'd been a little too blunt?

"Oi, didn't you say your Kaa-san and your Tou-san weren't here?"

It was a good thing he'd done a bit of thinking on that, then. The little boy he was pretending to be jutted his chin out in a show of petulance, not looking straight at Kudo, but rather to one side of him.

"Didn't say I was gonna call them. Was gonna call oba-san. Oba-san's nice."

Kudo considered this for a long minute. Crossed his arms. Sighed.

"Sheesh, kid. If she's supposed to know where you are, then you should've told the nice people back at the park about your oba-san, all right? There's one of the home phones over in there, you do know the number, right?"

Kaito nodded, seeming pleased with himself and proud that a big boy of six could remember something as long and interesting as a telephone number. The joy.

"Good. Then you just go do that while I deal with those clothes you were wearing. They're filthy, kid."

The contrite look on his face at the idea that his magic effects were going to be ruined in the wash was mistaken for a look of childish shame. Kudo rolled his eyes but left him to his own devices, for which Kaito heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that for all his great deduction skills, the other teen wasn't so great with kids his apparent age.

With only a bit of a hop needed, he found that he had the phone within reach in under just a couple of minutes, and he was dialling mom's number in the next.

_Pick up pick up pick up – I know you're there, come on... You don't usually stay out this late, come on..._

The phone picked up.

"Ah, hello? Who is this?"

"Mom!" His old – older – voice, and damn but it was hard on a kid's vocal chords. He didn't think he'd be able to affect it for much more than five minutes or so. "Mom, it's me. I – I need your help with something, and it's really, really important."

"Kaito? Wait, Kaito, what's happened? What do you need my help with?"

Breathe in, breathe out. Poker Face.

"I need you to spread the rumour that I've got a cousin – I don't care how distantly related we are, just make it believable – who looks like me when I was younger. Acts like me. What's more, I..." he broke off, coughing. "I need you to make it sound like he's always been there. That he and – he and I go way back, and he knows all of my tricks."

He would have said more, but his younger body wasn't used to him using his voice like that, and was protesting. He'd likely be able to copy just about any kid his apparent age without hassle, but adults would be a lot harder.

"Kaito, what's all this about? This isn't about . . . is it? Or have you just picked up some stray all of a sudden without any warning?"

"Mom. This – I don't think this is about Kid." The fact that his voice started cracking before he was ready for it didn't help one bit. But then again... "It's about this. I didn't 'pick up any strays'. I _am_ the stray. And it was Kudo who was doing the picking up," he finished with a resigned complaint in his voice. "Literally."

"Kaito, what do you mean? And – why are you sounding like that? You. . ." she sighed. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. As fine as you get when you've just been shrunk, anyway. Look, I don't have all that much time – I've gotta make it sound like a little kid talking to his favourite aunty the minute it seems like Kudo – and yes, it is _that_ Kudo kid – might be listening in. So if you do feel like there's an emergency, and-"

"Kuroba Kaito, you're not calling _this_ an emergency?! Then I'd hate to find out what you _did_ consider one, young man."

Kaito held the phone slightly away from his poor, sensitive ears until she'd finished.

"Mom!" he hissed, trying to keep the volume down. "I do not need this right now! And besides – I'm probably going to have to sneak off at some point or go back home with the good detective here anyway, for clothes. I'll call again as soon as I can, all right?"

"...Make sure that you do," she said, a bit more softly. "Because if you don't, I'll tell Yukiko-san and Kudo-san on you, and I can do that, since you said in your own words that it's got nothing to do with the family secret."

". . . Mom. Seriously. No. Just, no. You really don't need to." Footsteps coming closer again, and Kaito almost panicked. "And I promise to talk again later as soon as I can, oba-chan!"

. . . And with that, he disconnected the phone, hoping that she wasn't too miffed with the abrupt end to the conversation, and purposefully didn't bother trying to put the phone back up where it'd been, instead opting to dump it down on the floor next to him for the time being. He figured that since he was a kid he could be a bit less like he was expected to know the consequences of whatever he did. And as such, he took great pleasure in not having to look repentant at all when Kudo told him off for being careless.

Seemed like there were a few perks to being like this again, he thought. Now all he needed were a few of his old tricks of the trade, some time left in the house on his own – or even just when Kudo wasn't paying any attention to him – and the place would be turned upside down and into a funhouse. The best part of it would be that he wouldn't be suspected – after all, how could a kid do all of that? Some of it, maybe, but all? And if Kuroba Kaito got implicated, then that wouldn't be a bother, since Kuroba Kaito was 'away'.

Finding it hard not to snicker at the images his imagination was throwing up, he was just into wondering how much more chaos he'd be able to come and get away with once he was bigger and able to be Kid again when the front door of the Kudo place started being hammered at loudly, and a familiar voice from earlier that night shouted through.

"Shinichi? Are you home, even? You could at least have answered the phone if you were..."

Kudo looked worried. Kaito wasn't so much, but even so, it was one more person who was coming into contact with him like this that he could test himself against.

"_Shinichi_!"

Kudo winced.

"Sheesh, Ran. We're over here – you didn't have to shout!"

A pause, and angry footsteps coming from the doorway and main hall.

"I do when you just go off again into dark alleys and you don't answer when I call and – wait, did you say _we_?"

"For one thing, I did tell you where I was going to be, and there's a reason why I couldn't answer the phone, and yes, Ran, I did say we. Hey, wanna see?"

"You – you found him? Where was he? Was he all right?"

Kaito started twitching. He was there, and he wasn't a pet. He did not like being treated like the new stray puppy Kudo'd picked up someplace. Just because he was shorter – somehow – didn't mean he was any less intelligent or anything.

"He's fine – I just had to get him a change of clothes, that's all." And now, the girl's visible through the doorway, and Kaito's first reaction is surprise at just how similar she looks to Aoko. Not exact, but enough to be a resemblance. She's wearing a coat that's slightly wet in places due to the rain – she must've used an umbrella on the way there not to be soaked. She quickly catches sight of him, though, and he's briefly aware that he probably gets a deer in the headlights look about him before she zeroes in on him.

"Hey... this kid – he's so cute!"

And he's being hugged, and that's her _chest_, dammit, and while he wouldn't mind if it was Aoko, even if he would get mopped, this _isn't Aoko_, and he's got to not blush, 'cause Kudo's _not_ looking very impressed, and...

...and then he's released. And he's now trying not to show just how relieved he is.

The girl – Ran, Kudo said her name was – turned over to look at Kudo.

"Who is this kid anyway, then?"

Score a nonplussed look for Kudo, something that was certainly a treat to see on any of his detectives.

"Uh. I..."

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't asked!"

Kudo brought both arms up in his defence.

"There were a lot of things going on!"

Ran huffed. . .and then turned to Kaito with a condescending but sweet look on her face.

"Ne, how old are you, kid?"

"I, uh. Six, neechan!"

"So you're in the first grade, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"And your name?"

_You can do this, you can do this, you've done it plenty of times before, come on, Kuroba..._

"O-Okuda, neechan. Okuda Hiroto!"

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AN: Next chapter's going to look into that first case, and solidify Kaito staying with Shinichi. So yes, before anyone asks, I am writing this as a full story-ish thing. But don't expect really, really long chapters, though.

There's an art for Hiroto on my DA.


End file.
